Horsetail: An Herbal Remedy With Tradition for Healing Bones & Cartilage

Horsetail (Equisetum arvense), an herbal remedy dating back to at least ancient Roman and Greek medicine, was used traditionally to stop bleeding, heal ulcers and wounds, and treat tuberculosis and kidney problems. It has also long been used to address the repair of bones and cartilage. “The plant's stems are rich in silica and silicic acids, which help mend broken bones and form collagen, an important protein found in connective tissue, skin, bone, cartilage, and ligaments. Therefore, horsetail is used as a supplement to treat and prevent osteoporosis.” (UMM)

The health of bones, cartilage, muscle, joints and tendons is greatly supported by specific foods and herbs that contain the building blocks not only for new tissue, but also for celluar regeneration. The latter is an important issue because of the great amount of stress placed on the musculoskeletal issue from:
• injury
• aging
• growth
• deterioration
• drug use (including drugs that destroy tissue as negative side effects)
• athletics
• exercise
• strain
• genetic abnormalities
• disease (e.g., arthritis, osteoporosis, rickets)
• hormonal changes (e.g., estrogen in menopausal/postmenopausal women)
• improper nutrition
Regarding the last point, few doctors recognize the role of diet in musculoskeletal health, and focus more on repairing and preventing injuries.

HORSETAIL
Horsetail is an plant that contains chemicals with a mild diuretic action – promoting the loss of water from the body. Taken orally for a few days horsetail may relieve mild swelling caused by excess water in the body. Historically, it has also been used to treat bladder, kidney, and urinary tract infections, but prescription diuretics (“water pills”) and antibiotics used in modern medicine are much more potent (yet cause side effects) for both of these uses.

Horsetail has been studied for its possible usefulness in treating arthritis, osteoporosis, and other conditions of bones and cartilage. Horsetail contains relatively large amounts of silica and smaller amounts of calcium. — components of bones, joints, and connective tissues such as tendons and ligaments. “It is believed that proteins in body tissues need silica to combine properly. Isolated results from early studies of animals show that horsetail may also have some pain-relieving and anti-inflammatory effects, which could add to its potential as a treatment for arthritis and related conditions. Some case reports relate the use of horsetail to lower incidences of osteoporosis. ..Other chemicals in horsetail have an astringent effect that may lessen bleeding and speed healing of minor skin injuries such as cuts and scrapes. An astringent helps shrink and tighten the top layers of skin or mucous membranes, thereby reducing secretions, relieving irritation, and improving tissue firmness. Oil distilled from horsetail has shown some anti-infective effects in laboratory studies.” (drugdigest.org)

Other benefits
Horsetail is also useful for genito-urinary problems as well as support for the brittle fingernails, gout, frostbite, excessively heavy menstruation, rheumatic disease, skin and hair. (supplementnews.org)

Horsetail is a key ingredient in ProMin Complex, by NutriPlex Formulas.